Teal Sweatbands, Headbands & Color Meaning

You think you picked that teal sweatband because it matches the swoosh on your current pair of running shoes. But it’s deeper, much deeper, than that. According to color symbolists, the teal you chose shows you are balanced, energetic and realistic. Here’s a look at the deeper meaning of your seemingly casual choice of teal. Once you know about the symbolism in your color choice, you’ll never look the same way again at your sweatband.

What Is Teal?

Teal is named for the duck family called teal. The eyes of these fowl are surrounded by this shade. The duck also has a distinctive stripe on its head in the color teal. Teal is often confused with turquoise, which is a 70% blue and 30% green. Teal is a more equal mix of blue and green, with a drop of black and gray to give it depth.

Teal, used as the name for a color, has a fairly recent history. It first appeared in 1917 in the Dictionary of Color.

Teal and Variations

You might notice that your teal headband is one shade, but your t-shirt, also called teal, is a slightly darker shade. That’s because the name has come to mean a range of hues, all variations on the basic blue-green color.

Painters have a set convention for teal, creating it by mixing equal amounts of blue with green in a white base. They then step it up a notch with a dash of black or gray.

But fashion designers figure anything in the green-blue range are close enough to be labeled teal. For example, you might find sweat pants that are teal blue, which is teal with extra blue in it. This is a popular shade, and was widely used on furniture and for interior decoration in the 1950s and 1960s. It reached the height of acceptance when it became a Crayola crayon, #113, in 1990.

Teal green is also a trendy color. It is the basic blue-green combo, with a slight emphasis on the green, plus a good pinch of gray added.

The Psychology of Teal

HA. You didn’t know teal had a psychology, did you? The colors you wear say a lot about you. Teal lovers are a deep bunch.

With teal, you are telling the world you are trustworthy and constantly seeking to recharge your energy and your spirits. You are energetic and down-to-earth. How did color psychologists decide on these traits for teal lovers? Green is the color of the earth. Blue is the color of the sky. Combine the earthiness of green with the loftiness of blue and you end up with an energetic, practical type who is also sophisticated.

You can see it in your choice of sweatband. Not for you the basic black, brown or gray. You appreciate the practical benefits of wearing a headband to catch the sweat. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! So you jazz up your headband by getting it in teal--practical and chic. People drawn to teal are therefore of the earth and hence trustworthy. This interpretation isn’t new. To ancient Egyptians, teal was the color of faith and truth.

Among Native Americans, teal represents fertility and water. That’s because blue is the color of the ocean. Green is the color of Mother Earth, the source of all life. The Tibetans see teal in terms of infinity because it combines the colors of earth and sky.

Teal and Your Personality

Pulling it altogether, as a teal lover you are confident, sophisticated, faithful and filled with compassion. People see you as optimistic when you wear teal wrist sweatbands or teal headbands. You are always seeking to recharge your energy levels.

You have leader-like qualities because you combine a realistic, down-to-earth nature with a more dreamy, visionary, lofty view of the world. People who are drawn to teal are creative innovators.

When you wear clothes or gear like sports headbands in teal, you charge the environment with a blast of energy that promotes engagement and communication. That’s the way to get the team working together! Teal also digs deeper, encouraging a sense of spiritual connection and development.

Teal and What You Wear

With its blue grounding, teal looks good on almost everyone. It is a sophisticated shade that is popular in dressy and casual wear. It works well with dress shirts for guys and evening gowns for women. And it’s right at home on a t-shirt and a cotton sweatband. Teal is versatile, chic and practical, just like you. With their creative earthiness, teal lovers, both men and women, enjoy wearing natural jewelry. They like the popular types like the turquoise gemstone, which comes in many shade variations, including teal.

But true teal people don’t stop there. They check out the less obvious gemstones like indiocolite, basic tourmalines and Paraiba tourmalines, and even the blue diamond, which has been color enhanced. They love topaz, which comes in many shades like teal-diffused topaz and blue topaz.

Granted, teal sweatbands aren’t going to set you back that much, and since you’re buying online, you aren’t handling cold, hard cash. But it’s interesting to know that teal is the color of big bucks.

Teal and Sports

Teal is a popular color among sports teams. Though they probably didn’t know about its deeper meanings, the team owners and managers picked up on its inherent benefits. Teal is great for positively energizing people, getting them engaged, connecting and working together.

That could be the reason all these teams highlight teal in their uniforms and logos:

Realistic and down-to-earth. You know you’re going to sweat if you exercise. It could be a couch-to-5k program or marathon training. You might need basketball headbands for team practice or sports headbands for your first-ever softball practice. You’re smart enough to plan ahead to keep the sweat off your face and off your hands.

Chic. But not just any plain terrycloth headbands will do. You want one the color that calls to you, teal. It’s good to be realistic, but with style!

Energetic. When you don’t have hair falling in your face, when sweat doesn’t run from your arms onto your hands, when sweat doesn’t get in your eyes, then you have more energy to concentrate or the game and the workout. That’s what quality sports headbands do for you. And when they are teal, they add a certain zing that keeps their natural energy and optimism up.

And you thought you were just look at plain old teal sweatbands. Now you know!